Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-27
NEW Y0RK'S BIG MARKET
MkN WHOHAVE BEEN RENTERS
IN IL FOR HALF a CENTURY.


Tradesmen-Tho 800 StAi Efficiently
Guarded by SIX Policemen - Com
plants that the Metropolis is Growing
Very Dun.
NEW YORK, March 28.-The Fourth
Avenue Elevated trains at 80 O'Clock of
a spring morning are sparselY occupied
with passengers, more than half OF whom
carry great empty baskets or wear the
rOugh-a nd-ready raiment of marketmen.
They alight at the Park place station and
scurry down through narrow streets that
lead toward the North river. They are
on their way to Washington market,
which occupies square on the north side
OF Manhattan Island. 1t is always open.
A thief, IMMERSED III its workings, would
imagine that he could easily walk of with
some of the fresh meat hanging Rppar-
emily unguarded at the stalls, but before
he would have time to take down his
booty one OF the SIX watchmen on duty in
the market would appear from its tleshly
precincts and arrest him. Before leaving
his stall each meat dealer makes out a
list Of his wares exposed. The watch
men carry corresponding list, aud are
held responsible for the loss of any goods
by theft. The six watchmen guard the
200 stands so closely that thieves tiud the
place barren waste for their trade. At
3 O'Clock the stands in the retail market
begin to open. The eminently healthy
butchers III the place whistle merrily, and
several OF them are cutting beef kidneys
out OF great masses of fat and tossing the
Hfar frf,S1
be taken to the big factory, known as the
Fat Association, and there made up into
the base of genuine dairy butter" Be-
yond the retail market, and bounded on
one side by the North river, is the whole
sale department or Washington market.
1t looks like street Intersected COM
munity of one-story structures, peopled
with carcasses of beef. veal and mutton,
and crates OF quackinR, cacklIng fowls. A
Wheeling tug lows up to the wharf u
lighter, on which are several refrigerator
cars that have been hurrying from
Chicago with their loads of beef. The
carcasses are passed out of the cars, hung
on hooks that move on iron wavsand thus
rolled into great ice houses, where the re-
tail dealer" have already begun to come
for their stock. On Friday and Satur-
day mornings business begins at 2 O'Clock.
BOOSTERS in the crates full OF fowl crow
at home and not doomed prisoners. Phia-
delphia is the great fowl producing centre,
and many Washington market firms dis
play placards reading, philadelphia
poultry a specially"
Four O'Clock comes and the retail de-
partment of the market has become quite
densely populated. Half of the three
thousand persons who do business in and
about the market have already arrived
DpUnn
few early purchasers are on hand for
choice bargains. Several shivering bum
merS, who frequent the place and sleep,
Heaven knows where, are standing about
and looking wistfully in at the windows
of the little restaurants in the market.
They will, later in the day, run the
chance of earning an odd dime or so carry
ing baskets.
The poultry dealers have come and are
unpacking boxes OF frozen turkeys. OF
the Western States Iowa is famous for
Its frozen turkeys, which now sell at
lac. TO loo. a pound. Vermont and
Rhode Island turkeys, however, sell for
20c. to pc.
On the bills OF fare OF recherche restau-
rants one learns that prairie chicken can
be had. They are not in the market, but
long rows of Guinea hens are hanging
there, and the brunette flesh of the
Guinea hen is palmed off ON the I'M
suspecting customer for prairie chicken
Rows Of adult pigeons that sell at So 80
dozen are on sale, and clusters OF
young pigeons, alias squads, are worth So
dozen.
AT 6 o'clock the oyster stands are peo-
Piled with files of oyster openers, who be-
gin their unTomantic toll OF turning 3, 600
oysters day out OF house and home
These oyster openers get SIT 80 a week,
and work from in the morning until at
night, and on Saturday nights until 10.
Skilled oyster openers In other sections
OF the city work dollar a thousand, and
make $50 or more week. Anglomania
has evidently entered into the game trade,
tor English snipe are selling at so 70
dozen and sand snipe at but 81 90
Spring lamb is plentiful, but the con.
commitant mint is so scarce that the one
or two stands that sell 1t get 100. d
bunch for hot house mint that
little later will be drug on the market
at 90.
Everything eatable Is sold in this great
market. At one stand that has foreign
air and odor customer is buying little,
hard, spiced cakes from Germany, over
another stand in the fish community is
placard announcing that the dealer has
worms That can be had there for 12c. and
loo. dozen. They are sand worms, used
by fishermen for bait. over the fish
stands hang bottles OF cod liver oil, and
under one of these bottles a big cod,
still alive. Is gasping in horror, as If at
the sight OF the essence OF an ancestors
liver.
} At O'CLOCK the stewards OF the big
hotels, whom the marketmen treat with
great Difference, begin TO arrive. The
steward OF the Fifth Avenue Hotel Is one
OF the first in the field. The Union Square
Hotel steward comes at . O'Clock and of
Taylor's Hotel in Brooklyn half an hour
later. At that hour the business OF the
market begins TO be confusedly brisk
The marketmen cry their wares, but do
it with an air of 81 DON'T care much
whether you buy or not" Everybody
seems independent. lie owns bis stand
privilege, worth from 80, 900 upward, and
holds it as long as he behaves himself and
paws his rent Of 81 or more fortnight.
Failures in business are rare. The dealers
are healthy and contented, and to them
Washington market is the universe. One
who has not been in business in the
market over forty years is considered
new conner. One bustling Old woman,
who was selling Florida stra " berries at
Doc. quart, is up at2 O'Clock every morn
ing buying her stock. She Is Mrs.
Fowler, and "A cordial nei2hbOr explains
that she has been on the market forty-one
years. She made fortune once, and
owned brOwnstone front, but msfor-
tune and the sickness OF her children
turned the tide against her, and now she